Wednesday, 16 March 2016

REVIEW - Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Title: Sleeping Giants

Author: Sylvain Neuvel

Publisher: Del Rey

Release Date: 26th April 2016

Source: ARC

An inventive debut in the tradition of World War Z and The Martian, told in the cutting-edge cadences of interviews, journal entries, transcripts, and news articles, Sleeping Giants is a literary thriller fueled by a quest for truth—and by a struggle for control of earthshaking power.

A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square-shaped hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand.

Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved—the object's origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Carbon dating defies belief; military reports are redacted; theories are floated, then rejected.

But some can never stop searching for answers.

Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top-secret team to crack the hand's code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the relic they seek. What's clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unraveling history's most perplexing discovery—and finally figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?Quite frankly I am at a loss as to how to describe this book, so much it has taken me several months to get around to writing this review. Several reference points came to mind most notably Pacific Rim, a film that I actually prefer with the dialogue muted but it did have kick ass huge robots.This book starts with a young girl falling down a hole and landing on a big ass hand. A big ass hand made from metal, buried deep under ground and the start of a mystery that is about to baffle scientists for years to come.The girl who landed on the hand is Rose and as an adult she is now a physicist whose aim in life is to figure out where the hand came from.The book is told in discussions with an interviewer, a guy who appears to be high government or possible above the government, he reminded me of those shadowy dudes you saw in the X-Files like Mr Cigarette Smoking Man. Anyway this guy seems to be a bit of bad ass with a very big vested interest in the hand.I don't want to spoil the story for you as it is genius but lets just say that the hand is the tip of the iceberg and the books takes us on a global journey as more bits of its puzzle are found. It takes us to meet a group of people whose lives are thrown together to make sense of the puzzle.

This is an epic story and yep I have been helluva vague about it but it is sci-fi mystery at its best. The way it is written in the interview/diary makes for compelling reading, this story never felt boring or strung out, it was constantly entertaining and superbly written with something for everyone, yep there is even a hint of romance.I also must mention it has one of those endings that truly makes you go WTF? WTF? just happened, an ending that means there must be more. That means waiting on another book and I am not patient!!Thank you to Del Rey for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This sounds like a good book with the mystery surrounding the hand, how you hint that it's just the tip of the iceberg and the sci-fi elements. I am not a fan of stories told in an unconventional way, but it does sound like it works for this story. Great review!

About Me

I'm on the wrong side of thirty, a Scottish mother of two! I'm incredibly short and a (real) redhead (just in case my blog name didn't give it away).

I live and breathe books, with a huge love for sci-fi and dystopian stories. I am also a huge Disney fan, a failed jogger, a Ravenclaw prefect, lover of graphic novels, a Funko Pop collector, a Cocker Spaniel mum and an addict of Pinterest and Instagram!

I am also partial to a bit of fashion, beauty, travel, handbags, podcasts and food! So basically most things!!

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